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27.9.08

A beautiful 1883 Waltham pocket watch in a sterling case1920s Paris, France postcards can be put anywhere!We love these ribbon-wrapped old lampshadesOne of the most beautiful Victorian Sunday artist oil paintings I have ever seen. The roses are exquisite!We have a set of 6 of these chairs

22.9.08

One thing we're known for are our beds. We doll them up and fluff them with pillows and antique quilts. This particular bed is an iron bed, aged and rusted to perfection. We decided to leave it just as we found it - so appealing! We tweaked our store today, adding our latest finds and redoing all of the displays.I found this great plateau with original chippy paint. These are the best arched French windows - Oo-la-la!I snapped a few more images as we've added a lot of new treasures to the mix. Monday night and all day Tuesday, Bob, Debbi and I worked like dogs planning, rearranging, moving furniture, hanging pictures, frames and chandeliers. We've sold a lot of furniture this past couple of weeks and it always makes the store change. Here's a sweet Victorian scrapbook, original and in great shape. I love the old lithos and the one here is in beautiful condition.The old lighting is the best, nothing like it and these are big and fabulous! Vintage sconces tend to be small and to acquire a pair of fine French sconces like these is a true find. They have the original glass shades and large crystal spears - ooh la la!This transom window from the late 1800s looks incredible on the wall. The pale French blue original paint couldn't be more perfect for the look so many of our customers are looking for today. We're very happy to be able to offer it for sale in our store.The green toleware platter looks so great on the green buffet.

We just got this vintage chalkware statue of a girl with basket and it's perfect for displaying our Caspari napkins.I never tire of the real cottage pieces, the ones with the original chippy paint, which complements any cottage country or French cottage look, camps and bungalow. This is a drop-leaf gateleg, could be slipped in behind a sofa, in a hallway of entryway, it's so narrow when the leaves are down. We're going to have fun using this in displays until it finds a forever home.Vintage Tole Tray - beautiful roses!A view from the middle of the store's front room

Fall is here and it feels great! I can't wait to decorate the shop with fall leaves and gourds and everything fall and autumn. Last night had that bit of chill in the air for the first time. Change is exciting! Well, I'm off to to the store and will post photos later - there are some great displays of new finds that we hunted down yesterday, including a fabulous pair of French windows. I can't resist architectural pieces.

16.9.08

I love this book, Cottages by the Sea by Linda Leigh Paul, and this Hansel & Gretel cottage - just a sample of the fairy tale cottages that make Carmel-by-the-Sea such an unbelievably special place. This book was a gift from a former employee and I love looking through it. My grandparents lived in Carmel and I spent many vacations there and have the fondest of memories of this incredible coastal city and spending time with my grandparents. They would take us to Big Sur in the summer for picnics, outdoor concerts, Pacific Grove for auctions and art galleries in town (my grandmother, Esther Rose, was an artist). My twin sister Cathy and I would explore the beaches and high sand ridges at the foot of Ocean Avenue, and play around the Monterey pine trees. We went swimming in the pool at the high school, found short cuts to downtown where we would visit the tucked away shops hunting for souvenir spoons. Our grandpa made Cathy and I wooden spoon racks and each time we visited we would select a new spoon to treasure and add to our collections. Come to think of it, that was the first thing I ever collected. I hadn't thought of that until now.

I was fascinated by the cottages and whimsical buildings and homes in Carmel, still am. There's no where else quite like it on earth.

Even a mailbox can be the most whimsical appealing structure; like I said, nothing like it.

Even though my grandparents are sadly long gone, Bob and I visit Carmel every year and love walking along the beach, strolling Ocean Avenue and browsing the shops, going over to the Misison Inn for dinner - it's a very romantic place to visit. Carmel is a town I will never get tired of. How quaint is this???

The photo below is such a contradiction. It seems so starkly instrusive for the street signs in the forefront to mar the perfection of the home behind. Oh well, this is our reality, isn't it. At least we all can escape to the comforts of our home, the coziness and serenity that awaits us inside.

This is a wonderful shop in Carmel that I love to visit, Off the Wall. It is a haven for rescued and salvaged items. It's full of chandeliers, columns, carvings, chimney pieces, Victorian millwork, porch posts, railings and doors. There are door knobs, doorbells and other hardware, fireplace mantels, overmantels, mirrors, leaded and stained glass, old style tubs, sinks, sink fixtures, stoves, statuary, a stairway or two, assorted marble - you name it, they've got just about everything when it comes to old fixtures for your home.Do Hansel & Gretel live here???

This is an example of the Carmel-by-the-Sea version of a thatched roof cottage.

Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. ~ Grandma Moses

Cordelia with Frankie & Bella

Cottage Antiques, an online business

I've always loved antiques, since I can remember have been drawn to them. My husband, Bob and I share the passion for antiques. Our second date was to a flea market. I went into the antiques business opening an antique mall in 1988 which evolved through the years into Cottage Antiques. Now my business is totally online. In 2000, Bob and I bought a Bob 1935 house, restored it and filled it with all the antique pieces and vintage accessories that we have collected together over the years. Working on this house has been very rewarding. Another passion are our animals. Bringing pets into our home who have been tossed away, neglected and abused has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.